Does Panini deliberately print limited edition or rare stickers?

No. Every collection consists of a number of stickers printed on one or two print sheets, which in turn contain one of each sticker and are printed in the same quantity as the albums.

When were self-adhesive stickers introduced?

The self-adhesive stickers were introduced in the 1971-72 Calciatori collection. Originally, the stickers were made of light cardboard, and collectors had to paste them into the album with glue. At the end of the 60s "celline" - small double-sided adhesive triangles - were attached to the back of the stickers so that they could be stuck into the album without having to use glue.

Why does the original version of the upside-down player have a red jersey, white shorts and black socks with yellow trim?

So that he cannot be identified with any particular Italian team and can therefore represent all players in general.

Which player was shown on the cover of the first issue of Calciatori?

The Swedish player Nils Liedholm, who at the time played for AC Milan and formed part of the legendary trio of forwards known as "Gre-No-Li" (along with Gren and Nordhal).

How many sticker packets does Panini produce in a year?

On average, Panini has produced 1 billion packs a year over the last few seasons. That equals 6 billion stickers!

How many packets were sold of the first Calciatori Collection?

3 million, which grew to 15 million the year after and to 29 million the year after that.

Who invented the Panini Collections?

Giuseppe Panini, who founded the Company in 1961, having previously run the Panini Brothers Newspaper Distribution Agency (1955). His brother Benito started with him in the business at the same time, while their other brothers, Umberto and Franco also joined the company in 1963. Giuseppe Panini died on October 18th 1996 at the age of 71.

When were stickers/cards born?

The first known sticker/card was part of a series issued by the Bognard Lithography of Paris in 1867, to illustrate pavilions of that year’s world trade fair. They were followed by the Marquis of Lorne cigarette cards, that is, the cardboard images used from 1879 in the US to reinforce the packs of cigarettes of the same brand .

What is "fifimatic"?

It is the automatic packaging machine invented by Umberto Panini: it gathers the stickers (the number of which depends on the order) and packets them. The machine then sends out the boxes already containing the sticker packets.

In which year did Panini begin to publish “L’Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio Italiano” (The Illustrated Guide to Italian Football)?

In 1970, this title, under the direction of Luigi Scarambone, was acquired from the publishing house Carcano. Before that, it was published by Rizzoli and written by Leone Boccali (the legendary sports journalist who created it in 1939) and De Vecchi.

Why is the Panini logo a knight?

Because Giuseppe Panini, who loved riddles and puzzles, invented his own crossword puzzles under the pseudonym "The Knight". In the 70s, there was also a magazine for Panini sticker collectors whose testimonial was "Pipino The Knight" (Pipino stood for Giuseppe).

What was the first non-Calciatori sticker collection made by Panini?

"Aerei e Missili" (Aeroplanes and Missiles) in 1965, followed by "Animali di tutto il mondo" (Animals of the World).

Which was the first Panini sticker to be printed?

A picture of Bruno Bolchi, defender and captain of Inter Milan.

How much did the first Calciatori packet cost?

10 lira (around 0,5 Euro cents), and it contained only 2 stickers.

What is "Il feroce saladino"?

It was a promotional sticker printed in 1937 for Perugina - an Italian chocolate company - which, due to a distribution error, became very rare in most parts of Italy, thereby reaching an incredible value for that time.

When were multilingual captions introduced for the first time?

In 1970, for the World Cup in Mexico; this was also the first time that a sticker collection was sold and marketed on an international level.

What was the first sticker album published for the Football World Cup?

“Mexico 70”. This album coincided with the final edition of the World Championships, where the winning team was presented with the historic Jules Rimet Trophy, which was then substituted by the present day FIFA WORLD CUP in 1974

What does the upside-down player - the symbol of Calciatori Panini - represent?